CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Missouri State volleyball team came up short Saturday evening in a battle between the Missouri Valley Conference's two remaining unbeaten teams in a 22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 20-25 loss to UNI at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Despite the loss, the Bears (15-5, 8-1) remain two games ahead of third-place Wichita State (15-4, 6-3) in the MVC standings. Missouri State travels to Wichita Oct. 23 for a 7 p.m. contest with the Shockers. UNI improved to 18-2 overall and 9-0 in the league with its 16th-straight win.
Missouri State came out strong, leading 13-7 in the first set before watching the advantage slip away with a 6-0 UNI run. The set remained close after that with seven more ties before the Panthers scored the final three points for the win.
The second set was marked by another 6-0 UNI run, this time with the home team turning a 12-12 tie into an 18-12 advantage. The Bears closed within four on three occasions but got no closer.
The Bears bolted to a 9-3 lead in the third and cruised to the victory, hitting .486 as a team with 18 kills and one error, and took the momentum into the fourth set by winning the first two points. The Bears held the two-point lead to 7-5 until UNI answered with a 12-3 run to go ahead 17-10.
Missouri State broke the UNI run with a three-point spurt to pull within four and force a Panther timeout, and cut the lead to three points at 18-15 shortly thereafter. The teams traded points to a 21-18 score before UNI ripped off three straight to get to match point. The Bears stayed alive for two more points before UNI put it away with a kill.
UNI hit .309 as a team to .273 for the Bears and out-blocked MSU 10-8. Sara Staubach led all players with 18 kills while hitting .348, and Calli Norman hit .429 with 12 kills for the Bears. Addie Foley notched a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs. Cara Hackmann led all players with 23 digs.
The Panthers had five players top the 10-kill mark including a triple-double of 11 kills, 43 assists and 13 digs from setter Bre Payton.
